‘He would have done a lot of damage’: Campus reacts after student admits to planning attack at HPU

‘He would have done a lot of damage’: Campus reacts after student admits to planning attack at HPU

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Updated: 5:15 PM EDT Aug 29, 2019

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THROUGHOUT THE DAY AND NIGHT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. >> A TERRIFYING PLOT TO SHOOT UP HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY QUICKLY SHUT DOWN THANKS TO THE BRAVE AND SWIFT ACTION OF A STUDENT, OR STUDENTS. THE MAN HERE, PAUL STEBER, A FORMER HPU FRESHMAN IS BEHIND BARS ACCUSED OF HAVING TWO GUNS ON CAMPUS AND REPORTEDLY TELLING POLICE HE HAD A PLAN TO CARRY OUT A SHOOTING DO THIS AFTERNOON, -- NEW THIS AFTERNOON OUR KIRSTEN GUTIERREZ , SPOKE TO THE UNIVERSITYS PRESIDENT. >> FOLLOWING PAUL STEBER’S ARREST TUESDAY, HIGH POINT UNIVERSITYS PRESIDENT NIDO QUBEIN SAYS THE ATMOSPHERE ON CAMPUS IS NORMAL, AND THATS THE -- THAT’S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE. >> WE LIVE IN A CRAZY WORLD. SOMETIMES I LOOK AROUND ME AND I JUST AM AMAZED AT HOW CRAZY THINGS HAPPEN IN THIS WORLD, BUT AT HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY WE WERE ABLE TO SPOT THE SITUATION. >> A VERY SERIOUS SITUATION THAT MANY BELIEVE COULD HAVE BEEN THE COUNTRY’S NEXT BIG TRAGEDY. BUT FORTUNATELY, STUDENTS NOTICED FRESHMAN PAUL STEBER HAD GUNS IN HIS DORM ROOM, AND REPORTED HIM >> THEY FOLLOWED THE PROTOCOL TO A TEE. THEY INVOLVED THE HIGH POINT POLICE DEPARTMENT VERY QUICKLY. WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE BAD SIDE OF THIS, BUT THERES A GOOD SIDE TO THIS, AND THE GOOD SIDE IS THEY SPOTTED THE DANGER, THEY TOOK CARE OF IT AND THEY DID IT WITH A SENSE OF PROFESSIONALISM WHILE AT ALL TIME KEEPING PEACE AND CALMNESS ON CAMPUS. >> INVESTIGATORS SAY STEBER HAD BEEN PLANNING AN ALLEGED ATTACK SINCE DECEMBER. THEY SAY HE WAS WATCHING MASS SHOOTINGS TO LEARN WHAT TO DO, AND PURCHASED TWO GUNS AND AMMUNITION OVER THE WEEKEN HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT AND STUDENT SAY THERE’S NO TELLING WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED. THEY’RE JUST SO GRATEFUL NOTHING DID. >> IN MY CLASSES TODAY I HAD 1,530 STUDENTS GIVE THEM ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WITHOUT KNOWING WHO THEY ARE. THEY JUST APPLAUDED AND STOOD UP AND SAID THANK YOU FOR THE FACT THAT WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING, YOU SAY SOMETHING. WHEN YOU HEAR SOMETHING, YOU SAY SOMETHIN WHEN WE WORK AS A COMMUNITY WHEN WE WORK AS PARTNERS, WERE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF THINGS IN AN APPROPRIATE AND SAFE MANNER. >> QUBEIN HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH THE STUDENTS WHO REPORTED THE SITUATION. WHILE THEY WISH TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS HE SAYS HE COULDNT BE , MORE PRO

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‘He would have done a lot of damage’: Campus reacts after student admits to planning attack at HPU

A terrifying plot to shoot up High Point University was exposed and quickly shut down thanks to the brave and swift action of a student or students.Former HPU freshman Paul Steber was arrested Tuesday for having guns on campus and told police he had a timeline and plan to kill people.Following Steber’s arrest, High Point University’s president Nido Qubein, said the atmosphere on campus is normal and that is the way it should be.“We are a community. We are a community that comes together in good times and trying times, and it’s amazing people respond to that message because they believe it. They have experienced that with High Point University, and we move onward and upward with faithful courage,” Qubein said. “Our students are going to classes, our students are emerging with each other, collaborating, talking, studying and life is normal on campus, and that’s the way we want it to be.”Tuesday’s incident was very serious and something many believe could have been the country’s next big tragedy. “We live in a crazy world. Sometimes I look around me and I just am amazed at how crazy things happen in this world. But at High Point University, we were able to spot the situation,” Qubein said.When HPU junior Jacob Maggioncalda received a campus alert regarding Steber’s arrest, he was stunned. “A student had plans to shoot up High Point University, and that was truly terrifying,” Maggioncalda said. “I can tell you, where he was living, he would have done a lot of damage.”Fortunately, police said students noticed that Steber had guns in his dorm room and reported him.“I have no idea who the students are, but I really would love to meet them,” Maggioncalda said. “They did something really, really great and that kind of golden rule which they went by, ‘If you see something, say something,’ I think is so important.”“They followed the protocol to a tee. They involved the High Point Police Department very quickly,” Qubein said. “We can talk about the bad side of this, but there’s a good side to this, and the good side is they spotted the danger, they took care of it and they did it with a sense of professionalism while at all times keeping peace and calmness on campus.”Investigators said Steber had been planning the attack since December. They said he was watching mass shootings to learn what to do and purchased two guns and ammunition over the weekend. “It’s a terrifying world to live in that sense, but at the same time, I try not to worry about that too much, and I try to tell my friends not to worry about it too much. As scary as it is, yeah, it can happen anywhere. I never would have thought that it happened on High Point University’s campus, but luckily we have security that acted super-fast and diffused the situation,” Maggioncalda said.Qubein and students like Maggioncalda said there is no telling what could have happened, but they are just grateful nothing did. “In my classes today, I had 1,530 students give them acknowledgement without knowing who they are. They just applauded and stood up and said thank you for the fact that when you see something, you say something. When you hear something, you say something. When we work as a community, when we work as partners, we’re able to take care of things in an appropriate and safe manner,” Qubein said. “The student or students who were involved, we’ve talked to them, talked to their families. They choose to be private, so we respect that, but I expressed to all of them our thankfulness and appreciation.”Steber is charged with two felony counts of having weapons on campus or other educational property and one count of communicating a threat of mass violence on educational property.He is behind bars at the Guilford County Jail with no bond until a mental health evaluation is complete.Steber’s next court date is scheduled for Nov. 1.

HIGH POINT, N.C. —

A terrifying plot to shoot up High Point University was exposed and quickly shut down thanks to the brave and swift action of a student or students.

Following Steber’s arrest, High Point University’s president Nido Qubein, said the atmosphere on campus is normal and that is the way it should be.

“We are a community. We are a community that comes together in good times and trying times, and it’s amazing people respond to that message because they believe it. They have experienced that with High Point University, and we move onward and upward with faithful courage,” Qubein said. “Our students are going to classes, our students are emerging with each other, collaborating, talking, studying and life is normal on campus, and that’s the way we want it to be.”

Tuesday’s incident was very serious and something many believe could have been the country’s next big tragedy.

“We live in a crazy world. Sometimes I look around me and I just am amazed at how crazy things happen in this world. But at High Point University, we were able to spot the situation,” Qubein said.

When HPU junior Jacob Maggioncalda received a campus alert regarding Steber’s arrest, he was stunned.

“A student had plans to shoot up High Point University, and that was truly terrifying,” Maggioncalda said. “I can tell you, where he was living, he would have done a lot of damage.”

Fortunately, police said students noticed that Steber had guns in his dorm room and reported him.

“I have no idea who the students are, but I really would love to meet them,” Maggioncalda said. “They did something really, really great and that kind of golden rule which they went by, ‘If you see something, say something,’ I think is so important.”

“They followed the protocol to a tee. They involved the High Point Police Department very quickly,” Qubein said. “We can talk about the bad side of this, but there’s a good side to this, and the good side is they spotted the danger, they took care of it and they did it with a sense of professionalism while at all times keeping peace and calmness on campus.”

Investigators said Steber had been planning the attack since December. They said he was watching mass shootings to learn what to do and purchased two guns and ammunition over the weekend.

“It’s a terrifying world to live in that sense, but at the same time, I try not to worry about that too much, and I try to tell my friends not to worry about it too much. As scary as it is, yeah, it can happen anywhere. I never would have thought that it happened on High Point University’s campus, but luckily we have security that acted super-fast and diffused the situation,” Maggioncalda said.

Qubein and students like Maggioncalda said there is no telling what could have happened, but they are just grateful nothing did.

“In my classes today, I had 1,530 students give them acknowledgement without knowing who they are. They just applauded and stood up and said thank you for the fact that when you see something, you say something. When you hear something, you say something. When we work as a community, when we work as partners, we’re able to take care of things in an appropriate and safe manner,” Qubein said. “The student or students who were involved, we’ve talked to them, talked to their families. They choose to be private, so we respect that, but I expressed to all of them our thankfulness and appreciation.”

Steber is charged with two felony counts of having weapons on campus or other educational property and one count of communicating a threat of mass violence on educational property.

He is behind bars at the Guilford County Jail with no bond until a mental health evaluation is complete.